


when you finally fly home, take a piece of me

by Annatalia_Malfoy



Series: lose your fear—it is but a knife to shorten your life [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Alternate Universe - Historical, Alternate Universe - Regency, Epistolary, F/M, Unrealistic Depictions, pseudo-regency anyway
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-27
Updated: 2020-05-27
Packaged: 2021-03-02 16:53:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,080
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24390115
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Annatalia_Malfoy/pseuds/Annatalia_Malfoy
Summary: Where Lord Potter orrather, LordPembrokereluctantly comes home.[Or a series AU. In his scramble to find a wife, Lord Potter stumbles upon the Lady Draco, whose snark and vitriol unexpectedly endears the lady to him—to hisutterhorror.]
Relationships: Draco Malfoy & Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter
Series: lose your fear—it is but a knife to shorten your life [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1747972
Comments: 2
Kudos: 26





	when you finally fly home, take a piece of me

> **_Diary of Elisabeth Malfoy_ **
> 
> _(8 months and 28 days after the scandal)_
> 
> Today, I have been apprised of the impending removal of my sister.
> 
> I will be suffering the loss of a cherished sister soon, but in a way that calls for tears of a cheerful kind. My sister Helena has been made an offer of marriage by Baron Camden who is an affable man sort of man of seven and twenty, blonde and lean, although _somewhat_ short but still endowed with satisfactory features.
> 
> Grandfather has known the baron in his boyhood and _swears_ him to be a fine man. He is warm, generous and much agreeable. I find him to be an excellent match for Helena, for she too is a tender soul. 
> 
> He has no vices, and has excellent manners. His finances too, are in proper order, although the subject matter has been tactfully unspoken in polite company. 
> 
> He has a pleasant smile and I'm eager to see Winfield Manor, which is to be my sister's new dwelling. I hope she settles there comfortably. 

> ** Diary of Henrietta Malfoy **
> 
> _ (8 months and 29 days after the scandal) _
> 
> To call Baron Camden handsome _is_ a brazen lie. 
> 
> I am glad he has not made _me_ an offer of marriage, for I should surely disappoint him with a resounding rejection. I am certain it is why he has not offered for me, the _eldest_ , for he discerns the vast differences of our situation and has wisely not insulted me with a thought to unite his inferior person upon his better. 
> 
> Besides, I can scarcely abide to live on Winfield Manor, which Cathy has assured me is tiny and uncomfortable. It's furniture too is sparse and unfashionable, and with hardly any servants. Oh I could faint, to live in such a dismal and dank abode!
> 
> Poor Helena.

> **_Letter from the Duke of Grryfinthrope to the Lord Harry Potter_ **
> 
> _(9 months and 13 days after the scandal)_
> 
> My dearest boy, 
> 
> I write to you with a heart full of misery and aching for succour. Your older brother, James, who has recently been afflicted by harsh coughs and chills, have ultimately been taken from us by the Lord for his kingdom last night. 
> 
> All of Wentworth is in mourning. Your grandmother has been utterly indisposed since his passing, unable to rouse herself from her bed, and her maids have been taken up in endeavouring to persuade their mistress to partake of any victuals. The cooks have also been assisting the wretched maids by producing the finest fares they can conceive in order to entice the duchess. If Euphemia persists in this course, am I to be deprived of a wife as well?
> 
> I know this letter may not reach you in time and hence, you will not be able to mourn your brother properly. Still, it is my dearest wish that you return home. It has been three years since we were allowed to perceive your fine features, which has always reminded me strongly of your father and may, perhaps, afford me relief in these distressing times. 
> 
> You understand, that with your older brother's passing, Wentworth is yours by irrevocable right. We have allowed you to satiate your passion for travel, knowing that it will give you the highest happiness. I hope the years have slaked your keenness for the activity, since however undesirable it must be to you, it is imperative that you forsake it and plant your roots firmly in England. 
> 
> Be with us, Hal.

* * *

For some reason, Harry finds the air different. He stands in the deck of a merchant ship, drinking in the growing shades and sights of England. His country, for which his hankering for novelty and adventure had enabled him to forsake but for which he had never really forgotten, welcomes him with the standard bustle of all nations but tincted with something peculiar only _to_ England. 

"A very uneventful travel, _aye_?"

The captain of the ship, a short, ruddy, and stout man with a genial open countenance hardened by years of navigating the treacherous seas, beguiled by its enigma but also privy to its perils and hazards, walks towards him with a pipe in hand. 

"Secure the riggings!" He shouts in a booming voice. 

"Quite," Harry says, watching the crew obey their master's command, and acquiesces with a nod, "aside for a mild storm three days ago, it all appears to be _rather_ unexciting."

" _What?_ " The captain answers with a burst of thunderous laughter. "Would 'ye rather _sink_ to the bottom of the ocean, milord?"

Harry looks back to the open sea—boundless and open. This may be the last time he is truly free, unfettered by obligation, _just_ Harry—a second son who wishes to seek a fortune for himself. His fingers seek a gold band—small, unadorned, and snug in his pinky finger—and twists it. 

"At my current prospects? Perhaps, I would _rather_ sink to my death."

* * *

> _**Diary of Elisabeth Malfoy** _
> 
> _(22 months and 19 days after the scandal)_
> 
> We had a pleasant rain shower, earlier, without any booming thunder, but soft and gentle which have nourished the surroundings. 
> 
> The London Gazette has announced Lord ~~Potter~~ Pembroke's arrival, and the Duchess of Gryffinthrope has written, _eager_ to invite us to a ball at Apsley House next month, to be thrown in the new heir's honor. 
> 
> I had found the former heir to be rather frail but kind. I wonder what the new heir is like and what took him so long to return. 

> _**Diary of Elisabeth Malfoy** _
> 
> _(23 months and 4 days after the scandal)_
> 
> The printed cards for the Duchess of Gryffinthrope's ball arrived a few days ago and _they_ were lovely. 
> 
> My sisters, Henrietta and Dorothea _are_ eager. They've been out to shop, and are extremely determined to obtain the finest cloth and are sure to be making the dressmakers _fairly_ occupied.
> 
> Five of us, Henrietta, Dorothea and I, along with the elder twins, cousin Amalie and cousin Magdalene will be sure to attend. 
> 
> _Everyone_ in London is sure to attend, even the Prince of Wales and his sister. 
> 
> I do _so_ miss the duchess' parties. This is to be the first she has organized in a while, after the death of the former heir, and I know it would just _be_ spectacular. 
> 
> Cousin Draco _is_ yet to be prevailed upon. Although, if we are to hold her behavior towards gatherings in the near past as basis, then she _would_ undoubtedly refuse. 

**Author's Note:**

> >edited and added something


End file.
